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Her Hospo

Empowering women in the hospitality industry

Her Hospo is Australian Venue Co’s supportive, safe, and inspiring community empowering women in our industry. We welcome all women to Her Hospo, including cisgender and transgender women. With events and workshops, an open and honest forum, and connection with an inspiring network of ambitious women, Her Hospo strengthens the voice and champions the development of our emerging leaders.

By shining a light on the unique challenges & opportunities women in hospitality experience, Her Hospo seeks to foster equity in our industry.

Key Pillars

Education – Our education pillar seeks to build the skills and confidence of our emerging leaders and foster productive allyship.
Inspiration – Her Hospo inspires women to step beyond their comfort zone and pursue greatness. Our events showcase trailblazing women who challenge gender norms and break barriers.
Empowerment – Our Empowerment pillar amplifies women’s voices and builds community through networking events that foster connections and spotlight areas for industry improvement.

40/40/20 

Front of House: Our goal is to achieve gender equality and accelerate the advancement of more women into leadership positions. We strive for gender balance – 40:40:20 (40% men, 40% women and 20% open) in all senior roles within AVC.
Back of House: In our kitchen spaces, we recognise that there is an industry wide imbalance. We are committed to the encouragement of female and nonconforming gender hiring and participation. Whilst this program grows, we aim to reflect the same gender balance in our kitchen management as is in our kitchen teams.

Ambassadors: 

17 female Ambassadors across Australia and New Zealand and team is constantly growing!

We mainly look for our Ambassadors to push initiatives and events in our venues and help us learn more about what our venue team members need and how we can better support them!

Shaking a cocktail behind the bar

Our Women Leaders – Balancing the Scales

This short film brings together four incredible women from across the AVC business, sharing their stories of leadership, resilience, growth, and what it really means to build a career in hospitality.

Through honest conversations, they reflect on the challenges, the progress, and the responsibility we all share in creating a more balanced future for women in our industry.

Executive Panel:  This panel features our 5 of our female executives who share their stories, leadership journeys and insights into what it takes to lead with impact in our industry

Claim Your Confidence: hosted by Mel Kettle is an empowering, real-talk keynote for women in hospitality who are ready to stop shrinking, start speaking up and lead with clarity, courage and conviction.

International Women’s Day 2026: 325 attendees across 8 major city events across Australia & New Zealand came together to view a short film from our Her Hospo Spotlight series.

International Women’s Day 2025: Featuring an incredible panellist lineup our 2025 International Women’s Day was a fantastic opportunity for us to connect, share knowledge and take collective action in achieving gender equality.

  • Jerry Mai : Executive Chef, Restauranteur, Trouble Maker
  • Justine Baker:  CEO, Hospitality Advisor, Consultant
  • Trish Brew : Distiller, Entrepreneur
  • Rosheen Kaul:  Award-winning author, Chef, Food personality
  • Cara Devine : Author, Bar Owner, Youtuber

Initiatives

Mentorship Program: The Her Hospo Mentorship Program champions the growth of emerging women leaders by connecting them with experienced professionals, who can offer guidance, support, and inspiration.

Sisterworks: SisterWorks is an organisation supporting migrant, refugee & asylum seeker women gain confidence & economic independence.

Our AVC X Sisterworks training days focus on teaching the Sisters basic hospitality skills such as three plate carry, wine pouring, tray carrying, cutlery polishing and complaint resolution. We also discuss the different opportunities and expectations within hospitality

Reconciliation Flag

In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

We are a place free from discrimination, where everyone belongs. We respect and celebrate the diversity of our communities, including people of all cultural and faith backgrounds, classes, gender or sexual identities, ages and abilities and we are committed to creating a safe and welcoming space for all.